The woman behind Phoenix's surge is launching her own fund — and settling for 20% returns

Stella Cohen, former director at Phoenix Holdings and representative of controlling shareholders Centerbridge and Gallatin, is launching a new investment fund called David Group together with Ra'anan Igus, a former Goldman Sachs partner. The fund has raised approximately $120 million from American investors and plans to raise hundreds of millions of additional shekels from Israeli institutional investors. Cohen focuses on four areas: business services, financial services, security, and industry, and is looking for companies with EBITDA of $10-20 million.

Stella Cohen, a key figure who worked behind the scenes during the surge of the insurance company Phoenix, is launching a new investment fund called David Group. Cohen, a native of France, served as a director at Phoenix Holdings and at the insurance company after the acquisition of control by Centerbridge and Gallatin in 2019, and was involved in formulating the strategy that yielded the funds an exit of three times their investment. Now she is establishing a joint fund with Ra'anan Igus, a former Goldman Sachs partner. The fund has raised approximately $120 million from American investors and plans to raise hundreds of millions of additional shekels from Israeli institutional investors. Cohen focuses on four areas: business services (human resources, payroll, information, software, and insurance services), financial services (insurance, non-bank credit, insurance agencies, and wealth management), security companies, and industry. She is looking for companies with EBITDA of $10-20 million and is in active negotiations with four companies. Cohen emphasizes the fund's relative advantage in international experience and the ability to make acquisitions abroad.